It seemed we had tried for Justine forever, but it actually was about 12 months. I remember the doctor telling me we may never have children, that I had a condition that may prevent us from ever having a biological child. She was just in the process of prescribing me some medication because I had lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks. At the last minute she said, even though I know you’re not pregnant let’s do a pregnancy test just to be on the safe side. When she came out with a huge smile, I knew. I walked out into the waiting room to Robert who was anxiously waiting for the worst. I smiled and said, "she said we’re pregnant." The look of utter shock and then the smile on his face was so great.

After 4 months of the worst all day sickness I have ever experienced and losing 23lbs, my pregnancy finally settled in and everything went great.

On January 30, 1994 at 1:45 a.m. I awoke feeling really funny. I thought maybe I had to go to the bathroom, but that wasn’t it. I laid back down not really knowing what was wrong. A few minutes later I sat up and Robert asked what was wrong. I told him I felt funny and just couldn’t lay there any longer. He jumped out of bed and started putting his clothes on, as I was putting my robe on to go sit and watch t.v. He asked, "what are you doing? You better get dressed." I was so silly, I thought oh, I guess maybe I should. Within a minute I had my first REALLY hard contraction, then I thought Boy was he right. Very quickly we realized that we needed to hussle. My contractions were only 2 minutes apart and they were very strong. We lived a ½ hour away from the hospital and made it in about 15 minutes. Every time I had a contraction Robert would hit the gas. It was a very exciting ride. We rushed into the hospital and shocked everyone including me when I was already dilated to 8.

Exactly 2 hours from the time I awoke I gave birth to the most perfect looking, beautiful little baby girl. She was so chubby and pink. Justine came in weighing a whopping 8lbs 7oz and 19 inches long. After not having an epidural I just wanted to rest and hold my baby. We got to go home 2 days later and everything was great. After only 2 weeks she started sleeping through the night. She was a wonderful nurser and a very happy baby. At only 2 months old she doubled her birth weight.

She has truly been a joy and we just cannot believe she is going to start Kindergarten this year. Justine is a wonderful big sister and a big help in the kitchen. She loves to help her Mommy and is always willing to help Daddy fix things. Her most favorite thing in the whole world is her Teddy, she has had him since she was 2 weeks old, and they are inseparable.

She loves playing on the computer. She started on the computer at about 18 months of age and never turned back. She is a whiz on the computer and would spend her whole day there if we let her. Some of her favorite shows are Blue’s Clue’s, Magic School Bus, Madeline, Zoom and especially RugRats, (Tommy and Chuckie are her favorites.)